


Blue Chrome

by Volantredx



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cyberpunk, Multi, Murder Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23632204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Volantredx/pseuds/Volantredx
Summary: When the daughter of an influential Asari Matriarch is murdered, two Spectres are sent to discover who was behind the attack, and why, but in doing so they enter a world filled with corruption and chrome.
Kudos: 2





	Blue Chrome

  
**Noveria.**  
  
Shaixa jerked back to awareness with a pained hiss. Agony scrapped through her whole being. As if her body had transformed into a single raw nerve. The heat came next, a rolling force washing over her. Blearily she opened her eyes and saw only fire. Her aircar was burning. In the driver's seat, the crumpled form of her driver laid, his armor crumpled and glowing red from the flames. She pushed against the restraints holding her, and mercifully the straps gave way, releasing her. Distantly she could hear gunshots.  
  
“Marsius,” she called to her bodyguard. Her voice barely more than a croaking whisper.  
  
Slowly she pushed her door open and fell as she stumbled on weak legs. Summoning what mental training she had Shaixa willed herself to stand. Aeian was the huntress of their family, but two hundred years of working under their mother had taught Shaixa some degree of mental fortitude.  
  
“Marsius,” she called out again, louder this time.  
  
This time she was able to capture his attention. Letting lose a quick burst of fire at their attackers he moved to her side and half dragged her behind him towards some concrete planters. Once they found their cover he fired off another quick volley, driving their attackers back deeper into their own cover.  
  
“Miss T'Goni,” he said roughly, his mandibles flaring slightly. “I'm glad the crash didn't kill you.”  
  
“That would look bad on your quarterly employee review.”  
  
“Heh, true,” suddenly his eyes hardened. “Can you run?”  
  
“Barely.”  
  
“It will have to do. Across the platform do you see that door? It's an access to the maintenance tunnels.”  
  
She turned over her shoulder to look. Locating the flat grey door, she nodded.  
  
“Good, those tunnels are your way out. Get inside, and try to locate the identification markers. They're painted on the walls, usually at an intersection. Look for the one marked P-17, follow it and don't stop until it ends. The door on your right should lead you back into the plaza. Hopefully, you can lose them in the tunnels. If not they should avoid attacking you in the crowd. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Miss T'Goni?”  
  
“I understand.”  
  
“Now-” Before he could finish his thought a blast of gunfire tore through the air above their heads. Quickly Marsius returned fire, decades of experience allowing him to pinpoint the target with barely a thought. “Miss T'Goni do you remember what to do when I tell you to run and not look back.”  
  
Stiffly she nodded. It meant that he was not planning on coming with her.  
  
“Well then Miss T'Goni, run and do not look back.”  
  
“Thank you,” Shaixa murmured, slowly sliding her hand along his shoulder.  
  
“Thank me when you get out of this. Until then my job isn't done.” Marsius looked up over their cover. “Go, now.”  
  
Willing herself to move with every last reserve she still clung to she pushed her self toward her exit. Distantly she could hear more gunfire behind her, but she refused to think about it. Mourning would come after. For now, all she could do is take her rage, her sorrow, and her fear and use it as fuel for her weakened and battered body. Shaixa could not allow herself to fail. The cost to get her this far was much too high already.  
  
Unwilling to risk the door being locked and slowing her down she summoned what biotic force she still commanded and nearly blew the door of its hinges. Entering the tunnels she continued to run as fast as her body could still move. The heat of the pipes was nearly suffocating. Pumping heat and energy all over the colony, keeping the frozen hell outside at bay. Her body was on autopilot as she followed the dizzying twists of flat grey corridors.  
  
Finally, she saw her salvation in the distance. The exit into Plaza 17 was right in front of her. However scarce meters away the door flew open and into the tunnel stepped the last person on Noveria she wanted to see. His hulking form nearly filled the whole of the tunnel as he advanced slowly towards her. The black metal of his cybernetic enhancements seemed to absorb all light. If this creature was ever called Human Shaixa thought with a shudder those days are long over.  
  
“Shaixa T'Goni,” his voice rumbled low and seemed barely above a whisper. “You've caused my employers quite a bit of trouble today.”  
  
“If you're going to kill me,” the Asari growled, the pale blue light of her biotic gift flaring to life. “I won't make it easy.”  
  
“I don't know,” a voice whispered from behind. “I found killing you to be quite easy.”  
  
Shaixa barely had time to register surprise before a sudden bright agony filled her belly. Looking down she saw a blade sticking out just above her navel. It's red paint contrasting with her purple blood. Slowly it slid out causing her to slump sideways. She felt herself go numb as she slid to the floor. Looking up at her attacker, her dimming vision making out little besides the vague shape of another human. A woman, whose lithe form seemed just as chromed up as her partner.  
  
“Nothing personal,” her killer told her with smug superiority. “But orders are orders, you understand don't you?”  
  
Shaixa didn't give her the satisfaction of having her last words be an insult towards her killers. Turning away, she closed her eyes, not wanting to see any more of this place. She thought back to her sister, and with what breath she had left whispered an old prayer for a safe hunt, then she knew no more.  
  
 **Three Weeks Later  
Citadel-**  
  
It was funny, Garrus supposed, how well lit the Councilor's office was given the discussion happening within. Talks like this usually take place in dimly lit rooms, with the only light doing more to cast long shadows than actually lighting anything. But perhaps he was just a sucker for the classics. He shifted his weight awkwardly, unsure if he should stand at attention or relax.  
  
The same debate was clearly not going on inside his supposed Spectre mentor, Tela Vasir. She was all but lounging in the chair opposite Tevos. Personally, Garrus was uneasy with that level of casualness with one of the three most powerful people on the Citadel, but in the few weeks Garrus had been working with Tela the Asari showed a surprising degree of familiarity with the Council. He supposed it came with decades of working with them, but somehow he couldn't picture the likes of Saren or Jondum acting like an old drinking buddy of Tevos's.  
  
“Do we have any leads?” Tela asked.  
  
“Frankly,” Tevos sighed. “It's not an absence of leads, but an abundance that is hampering us. Noveria is a varren nest and without knowing who is responsible we're not willing to trust any investigation any of the Corporate Security teams hold. At this point our suspect list is basically every human-run corporation on the colony.”  
  
“So two dozen of the most cutthroat operations in the Galaxy? Now, what could a sweet girl like Shaixa T'Goni be doing to attract that much negative attention?”  
  
“Officially? She was acting on her mother's behalf as a chairwoman of Pulsar Technology.”  
  
“And unofficially?” Garrus questioned, drawing a surprised glance from Councilor Tevos, who seemed to just realize he was in the room. He was unsure if he should be offended by that.  
  
“Unofficially,” Tevos said with a sigh as she leaned back in her chair. “She was supposed to make contact with a Human cybernetic expert, Maria Adams, about a recent breakthrough they had.”  
  
“And this makes enemies why? The Humans are not exactly shy when it comes to a few deals in Citadel space, even if they're not technically part of it.”  
  
“The issue is that the researcher was not selling this breakthrough to Pulsar. She was giving it to them. Against the wishes of her employer, Osiris Technologies.”  
  
“Wouldn't that make them suspect number one in this?” Garrus asked.  
  
“Normally it would, but they're not currently on our list.”  
  
“And why is that?”  
  
“Because they had already tried to kill Dr. Adams and were prevented in their attempt. Even if they wanted Shaixa dead they didn't have the local assets to pull off a second attack so quickly. Especially in light of the precision this second attack had. If they had these people in their employ they would have used them the first time.”  
  
“So,” Tela interjected. “What exactly is our mission here? Stomp around Novira taking out anyone who jumps at shadows?”  
  
“No, the last thing we need is for you to get involved in a major incident. Technically your Spectre status is respected on Novira in light of the heavy investment from non-Human firms, but that is at best a loose agreement between whatever passes for government in Human space and the Citadel, and that agreement could be withdrawn at any moment. You're being sent because both of you have backgrounds in investigations. What we need is hard evidence about who killed Shaixa and her escort. Get that evidence back to us and we can force the Humans' hand on any sort of legal punishment.”  
  
“And if we should run afoul the team that did this?”  
  
“As a representative of the Citadel government, I can't officially sanction any actions beyond self-defense. However,” Tevos smiled sadly “Matriarch T'Goni is a powerful Asari leader, with a lot of powerful friends in many places. If she should get word that her daughter's killers were dealt with I imagine her gratitude would be quite substantial.”  
  
From where Garrus was standing he couldn't get a good look at Tela's face but he had a strong suspicion that she was smiling.  
  
A small beep from Tavos's Omnitool broke the brief silence.  
  
“I have to take this call,” she informed them her tone making their dismissal obvious. “Your transport will be arranged before you reach the Wards.”  
  
 **One hour later**  
 **Widow Relay Queue**  
  
“This is your captain,” a Salarian voice echoed over the ship's intercom. “We've just been given clearance to make our Relay jump. Barring any unexpected delays it should be fifteen hours until we reach our destination. You are free to use the ship's mess hall at this time, and you can use the in-cabin entertainment center with no added cost. On behalf of your crew, I'd like to thank you for choosing to fly with Red Giant Transports.”  
  
With a click, the Spectres' cabin was filled once more with silence. Garrus tried in vain to get in a comfortable position on the small cubby-hole that made up their bunks.  
  
“Do you want the top?” Tela asked annoyed as he continued to shift around.  
  
“I doubt it will be much better,” Garrus informed her. “I'm just not a fan of flying commercial.”  
  
“Did you expect they have us tool around in a warship? We're not really supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves, or our mission.”  
  
“I suppose, though... never mind.”  
  
“What is it?”  
  
Garrus sighed and debated if he should share his thoughts. Technically, Tela and him were considered equals given the lack of rank in the Spectres. However, until she gave the Council a positive review of his readiness he was acting as her backup more than a Spectre in his own right. If she felt he was allowing personal bias affect his mission it could reflect poorly later. Still, he was told to ask questions when they were assigned together.  
  
“I just feel strange doing this sort of work,” he stated finally. “We're supposed to be agents of the Citadel, but no matter how Tevos dressed it up we're acting in the sole interest of this Matriarch, not for the Citadel.”  
  
Tela gave a soft chuckle. “Well get used to that. A lot of what we do is glorified mercenary work.”  
  
“Isn't that betraying our mandate?”  
  
“Perhaps,” Tela stood with a shrug. “Really our only mandate is to work under the orders of the Council. They decide what is and isn't in the best interest of the Citadel. Sometimes you get to stop a bunch of insane terrorists from unleashing a bio-weapon on a bunch of innocent colonists. And sometimes someone with a lot of money and a lot of pull calls in a marker on one of the politicians running things and we get sent in to do dirty business.”  
  
Garrus didn't respond verbally, but he couldn't stop the slight flaring of his mandibles.  
  
“Listen, Garrus, I know why you quit C-Sec, and I know why you took this job when they gave you the chance. Yeah, we're working toward the interest of some high and mighty Matriarch but it's not like we're being told to gun down a bunch of school kids. We're still doing something resembling good, even if it's mostly just a favor job. My advice: don't worry about who is benefit from what, just do what you can to find out who the bad guys are and make sure they're on the right side of your scope.”  
  
That, Garrus decided sounded like damn good advice.

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been replaying a bunch of old cyberpunk games and I've decided to do a Cyberpunk humanity story inside the Mass Effect universe.


End file.
